By Roxanne ReidThe Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is one of South Africa’s most popular, especially with more adventurous visitors who don’t mind a bit of rough and tumble, some dust with their morning eggs. Who knows why, when there are at least 20 reasons why you shouldn’t visit the Kalahari.

​ByRoxanne ReidSouth Africa’s Tankwa Karoo is remote, way out in the sticks between nowhere and nothing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t drink in the open spaces, the big blue skies and the booming silence. It also doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. Here are 10 things to do in the Tankwa Karoo from Gannaga Lodge.

​By Roxanne ReidClouds of dust whirl across a brown and khaki landscape, the air sucked dry of moisture. This is the Tankwa Karoo National Park in the grips of a four-and-a-half-year drought. We’re here to stay at Gannaga Lodge at the top of Gannaga Pass, Tankwa Karoo, to explore this stony desert-like vastness on the way to nowhere.

​By Roxanne ReidThere are thousands of wonderful places to stay in Southern Africa, but many are variations on the same theme - hotel, safari lodge, etc. But sometimes they offer something different and intriguing, whether it’s a boat, a train, notable architecture or historic value. Here, in random order, are 10 unique stays and quirky accommodation in Southern Africa I’ve enjoyed over the years.

By Roxanne ReidAugrabies Falls is about 120km west of Upington in the Northern Cape. Although the average water flow is about 40-60 cubic metres per second, during the January 2011 floods some 4 800 cubic metres of water raced over the falls every second. It’s a place of unusual landscapes and quiver trees. Here’s what to do with 48 hours at Augrabies waterfalls in South Africa.

​By Roxanne ReidThe small town of Richmond lies just off the N1, about halfway between Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Don’t rush past; take the time to explore. Let me share some insight into why to visit Richmond in the Karoo.

​By Roxanne ReidI’ve written more than 50 posts on this blog in 2017, covering travels to places as varied as South Africa's West Coast, Karoo, Garden Route and Namaqualand, as well as Namibia, Botswana and Kenya. I thought it would be fun to look back and find which of them went down best with you, the readers. Here's the readers' choice of7 most popular African travel posts of 2017.

By Roxanne ReidFrom my previous posts about the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park you’ll gather that this park, which skips across the border between South Africa and Botswana, has a special place in my heart.

By Roxanne ReidI hopped out of the car to open a gate and found sheep waiting to welcome us to their patch of Karoo. The wind whipped the sand across the gravel track. We turned a corner and the farmhouse appeared, a windmill standing near a giant pepper tree on the far side. We were at Bloemhof-Karoo guesthousenear Richmond in South Africa’s Northern Cape Karoo.

By Roxanne ReidSince the publication of my book A Walk in the Park: travels in & around South Africa's national parks, people often ask which are my top 5 favourite national parks in South Africa. Picking my top three is easy; two I’ve visited time and again, never becoming bored, and I totally lost my heart to the third on my first visit. Choosing just two more from the other candidates is much harder.

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I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.Since 2015, travel buddy and husband Keith has been the primary photographer for this blog.We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.In this blog you can discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

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